Within the course of putting along your aquarium environment, you may introduce a selection of living organisms: plants, invertebrates, "living" rock and different media for helpful bacteria, and of course fish. However, as in any environment, parasites might find their approach in. One common parasite which will be damaging to your aquarium atmosphere and harmful to your fish is that the leech.

A leech is an annelid, or segmented worm; it is flattened, with a sucker on both the tail and the mouth. Leeches propel themselves forward by using each suckers, manufacturing a motion kind of like that of an inchworm. Most live in water; there are freshwater, saltwater, and terrestrial varieties. Many leeches, given the chance, can attach themselves to humans and alternative creatures, sucking the host creature's blood. It was common medical follow within the Middle Ages to "bleed" a patient by attaching a leech to the patient's body and allowing the leech to drink his fill. Medieval medicine wrongly held that the body was composed of 4 principal fluids, or "humors," and that an imbalance among these humors was the most reason behind disease. Blood was one in all the humors and was usually thought to be in excess; therefore, bleeding a patient helped bring the level of blood back to balance with the opposite humors.

Leeches are usually straightforward to identify in your aquarium: it's unlikely you may see any of the larger varieties, however freshwater leeches that might find their manner into your aquarium can still be up to a pair of inches long. Leeches swim in an undulating motion. If they're connected to a fish, they'll be heart-formed, as they curl up onto your fish's body, fins, or gills. The odd leech bite isn't going to hurt your fish in any major method, but an infestation will cause major problems, inflicting fish to become listless and thin. Leech bites will render fish vulnerable to different diseases; open wounds will become infected. And a leech can transfer microbial diseases from one fish to another.

Leeches might 1st enter your tank via live food that comes from leech-infested waters. If you depend upon live food that you just grow yourself, you'll be able to greatly scale back the prospect of a leech infestation. Leeches can additionally come back via new fish that you just introduce, or new plant life. Be positive to examine new creatures or plants thoroughly; if you're concerned, you'll be able to keep new fish quarantined for a period of time before permitting them to mix with your existing specimens. And you'll be able to place new flowers during a potassium permanganate resolution, five mg/l, for regarding an hour before introducing them to your tank. The potassium permanganate will kill any leeches that may be hiding in the foliage.

If you find a leech connected to your fish, do not be tempted to remove it with a try of tweezers (or pliers!); leeches burrow themselves into your fish's body to draw blood, and forcible removal can seriously harm your fish. Instead, bathe your fish for about fifteen minutes in an exceedingly 2.5 percent saline solution. This should cause the leech to giving up, or to loosen its grip such that you'll be able to ease it out while not leaving any leech components inside your fish. If your fish are sensitive to salt -- for example, sure species of catfish -- then saline resolution will not work; you will want to medicate your entire tank by adding one milligram of trichlorofon for every gallon of water in your tank. The trichlorofon might be harmful to some plants, thus it might be best to get rid of the plants initial and treat them with potassium permanganate, as described above.

Though leeches are not everybody's idea of a perfect aquarium pet, they're attention-grabbing creatures in their own right, and some folks do keep them, sequestered in their own small aquarium of course. They're simple to stay and do not demand abundant food: a little piece of meat or an earthworm every week is typically enough to keep a leech happy. They are quick to seek out food sources, but, and can reply to your finger rubbing along the surface of the tank yet on shadows passing overhead. If you retain substrate in your leech tank, the leeches tend to burrow; they're conjointly glorious scavengers. Most leeches are freshwater, but as a result of there also are marine varieties, be sure you know what kind of water your leech will need.

If you are installing an aquarium in your home or office, there are a selection of choices you need to make regarding size, equipment, and the sort of ecosystem you wish to create. One necessary decision is the type of substrate you will use -- the material on the bottom of the tank, in that you will plant aquatic greenery, coral, and different aquatic life. Since the substrate is a vital half of your overall ecosystem, you need to decide on the suitable material.

A primary perform of substrate is as an environment for helpful bacteria. These bacteria will perform several functions, like changing fish waste into natural food for aquatic plants. There are lots of aquarium substrate merchandise on the market, and several are enhanced with bacteria, minerals, nutrients, and different substances that will facilitate the graceful functioning of your aquarium ecosystem; just create certain that the substrate you decide on is appropriate for the setting you want to create.

Primarily, though, a hobbyist can still choose a substrate based on aesthetics. Several enthusiasts think about darker-colored substrates to be better for fish. Fish colors show more brilliantly with darker substrates, as an example, and fish are thought to behave less timidly.

For freshwater aquariums, the most common alternative for substrate is gravel. The gravel ought to not be sharp; it can be as coarse as pea-sized in diameter, or as fine as 1-2 millimeters. If your fish population will include bottom feeders, finer gravel is a better choice. Gravel is out there in several colours, and can be sealed to make sure that it doesn't have an effect on water chemistry; gravel that's sold specifically for aquariums is chemically inert. The composition of aquarium gravel is typically quartz and different lime-free minerals.

Another easy choice for recent water is sand. Sand is terribly fine and will compact itself over time; it's clean, and offered in several varieties, from play sand (that has been sterilized to be used by children) to black Tahitian Moon sand. Fish also appear to like sand. There are some disadvantages -- as a result of it is compact, debris will rest on prime of sand rather than settle into it, necessitating more frequent cleaning. (And, as a result of most sand is lightweight coloured, debris can be plainly visible.) And sand can clog your filter. You cannot use an undergravel filter with a sand substrate. Also, if your substrate is solely sand, live plants could have issue establishing their roots through this compacted material.

Don't harvest ocean sand for use in your aquarium; ocean sand contains too several impurities, the effects of which will be magnified in the closed aquarium environment. Opt for sandblasting sand (somewhat coarse, mostly composed of quartz), play sand, or another sand that has been cleaned of impurities.

If you propose to have a range of plants in your aquarium, bear in mind that your plants can obtain most of their nutrients through their root systems, which will be implanted within the substrate. Your substrate should probably consist of 2 layers: the underside layer ought to be nutrient made, or have the potential to store nutrients, and also the prime layer should forestall washout of nutrients with provide a firm anchor for the plants. In such a briefing, the lower level ought to be as high because the plant roots (one-two inches), and the top layer concerning two inches in height.

In such a dual-layer substrate, the high layer might be gravel, or perhaps sand, though make sure that your plants' root systems do not must grow through any of the sandy prime layer. As for the underside layer, vermiculate makes an ideal choice. Vermiculate could be a mixture of aluminum, iron, and magnesium; it is usually heated throughout processing, rendering the mixture sterile, pH-neutral, and with a high surface area. Vermiculate incorporates a high cation exchange rate: this can be the method through that plants absorb nutrients from soil. Vermiculate also releases potassium and magnesium over an extended period of time, again benefiting your plant life.

As a result of vermiculate tends to compact, it is best mixed with another substrate material, such as laterite, to keep up a porous structure. Laterite is porous, weathered clay burned by the sun; it contains high concentrations of iron oxide and tends to hold nutrients in storage till plant root systems absorb the nutrients.

Saltwater aquariums, significantly reef aquariums, have totally different requirements. A fine-grained sand can be used, though sand isn't a hospitable environment for bacteria and different microscopic organisms that can profit your saltwater ecosystem. A better selection may be crushed coral; as calcium carbonate is slowly released from this substrate material, it will promote new growth in any coral formations you have got in your tank, and it conjointly helps maintain the high pH levels required by saltwater fish. Crushed coral should be completely rinsed before laying it in your tank; excessive coral dust will cause your tank water to cloud over.

Another substrate for salt water is aragonite gravel; aragonite is stuffed with useful bacteria and alternative organisms, and therefore is considered a "live" substrate. Like coral, aragonite contains a high calcium carbonate content, serving to sustain your coral formations and maintaining a correct pH balance in your tank.

There are a number of choices for an aquarium substrate; but, the type of aquarium setting you want to make will go an extended means toward determining the foremost applicable substrate choice.